After the Maximilian Affair, I began scanning the Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book for an interesting recipe that I had previously overlooked. In one of the later sections was the Creole Lady, but it was a different recipe that we used at home in 2008 - a recipe we found on the national LUPEC website. I wrote about that drink in the post about Josh Taylor's Copley Lady. The two major differences between the Creole Ladies were that this older recipe utilized Maraschino liqueur instead of grenadine and was room temperature and not waterized like the stirred with ice one. This of course overlooks a third aspect: the fact that the newer one calls for both green and red cherries (and yes, we did have scary green cherries that a friend brought to one of our parties to torment us).

I stayed true to this older recipe save for its size. Since a sherry glass is 2 ounces, I was not as gung-ho about a 5 ounce drink that contained nothing non-alcoholic in it. Therefore, I cut the recipe in half which seemed more appropriate for the glass sizes of the day. The Creole Lady began with the Madeira's sharp wine aroma that was colored slightly by the Maraschino liqueur. The grape and whiskey's malt contributed greatly to the sip. On the swallow, the soothing sweetness of the liqueur and its funky cherry flavor helped to balance some of the oxidized flavors from the Madeira and the heat of the Bourbon. Overall, the Creole lady was very well balanced without chilling or waterization; this was most likely from the lighter proof of the Madeira and the high sugar content of the Maraschino.

Nice! My concern with it was that it had a lot of unbalanced sugar (well, balanced by room temperature warmth and the proof of the other two spirits). But many people actually enjoy more sugar in their drinks. And the Old W-A drink book doesn't have many fails in it.

who? what?

The euphemisms are getting a bit stale, suffice to say: four people in Boston -- two of whom are much more prolific writers than the other two (including the originator of this blog, who has no excuse apart from laziness) -- who drink and tell.

drink & tell: a boston cocktail book

A collection of drink recipes, techniques, and Boston bar recommendations from Frederic Yarm, one of the authors of the Cocktail Virgin Slut blog. Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and The Boston Shaker (on their shelves and via their webstore). Follow the buzz on D&T's Facebook fan page!